Need Motivation? ... this is the place!

Firstly, if there is a better forum for this then someone please advice and we can move it...

Anyway,

I've seen many many threads about people posting things like.. "i need inspiration", "i'm stuck in a rut", "i might quit" etc. etc. in the forums and so what i thought would be a good idea was to start a thread that WILL motivate people...because we all go through it...I mean it's possibly the most unpleasant part of the journey, but i believe it to be necessary, because that's when we can slow down and go... huh, i might need to do some more work on this than i thought!

so anybody, post advice, quotes, whatever,... that would help motivate someone to keep at it.

I'll start.

Whenever I get stuck or really frustrated, the first thing i do is put my guitar down, b/c i find i have to clear my head of that frustration first. And usually I like to watch videos of people playing, or lessons , or come browse the forums here!...

a quote from steve vai that i found really inspirational

"Really enjoy playing the guitar. Don't worry about anything, and play no matter what. Play regardless of what fears you have, regardless of whether you thing you're good enough or not, and regardless of what the world thinks. None of that matters. Playing is a personal, cathartic process. It's our birthright."

it's on my desktop so seeing it everyday is very motivating.

also from Dimebag Darrel

"1. You ain't the only dude who gets hit with this s**t--we all go thorough it time to time.2. You're not always gonna be stuck there, so don't totally schiz out! The only way that'll happen is if you let it. So don't get bummed out and go f*** it, I quit'--that's a dumb-assed loser attitude. Instead, get to work man. If you wanna get out of a rut bad enough, it'll happen. It's up to you though--no one else is ever gonna do it for you."

And another thing that i'd like to add is you have to believe that you can do this... learning an instrument is a lifelong journey... and finally, giving up--in any aspect of life--is the worst thing you can do.

Whenever I feel demotivated, I look at where I want to take my playing and try to work towards that goal [Although, sometimes I stop not long after, but I still am motivated to play the guitar regardless].

IMO, one of the best things to do when demotivated is to put the guitar down for a bit and study some music theory - it will immensely improve your playing without having to do much with the instrument itself. And it's extremely fun, but that's because I'm a geek. And my music theory isn't the best, so its also the same as I said at the beginning of this post about self-improvement of weaknesses.I mean, knowing your scales, modes, circle of fifths, inversions, etc, is really useful and sets a solid foundation for composition and improvisation and allows for a good way to craft music to the way you want it to be.Then, with this great wonderful knowledge, you can start learning from artists you like and finding unique interesting ways and techniques to add all sorts of wonderful tricks to your playing.

But that's just me.

EDIT: Also, listen and analyse music you listen to, even poppy radio stuff. Listen to the chords, the riffs, the layers of instruments, and try to learn as much as you can about composing a good song. Forgot about solos for now, focus on this stuff first, and everything else will follow. It really helps motivate me by knowing how other songs work and trying to incorporate that into my music.

but on topic: usually i just put my guitar down for the day. Everyone has off days, through experience i learned that dont force practicing on you, it is not has fun. Just let the music flow through you is what i say

i usually take some time and watch that entire feature (Miles Davis: Cool Jazz Sound) on netflix, and just relax and appreciate the sound of a group of virtuouso musicians (except for miles) focusing on things like sound and melody rather then theory or technique.

Whenever I feel demotivated to play, I listen to/watch videos of the two people that inspired me to play bass, namely Cliff Burton and Rob Trujillo.Just watching the way they play makes me think "I want to do that" and go and learn something new.